Trapped
by Pythonmelon
Summary: Vlad has gotten a little too comfortable with close calls at sunrise at Mina's, and is trapped in her home for a day because of it


Vlad had been to Mina's so many times now. For almost three years he had been visiting the young human's home at night to play with her. The vampire had become so relaxed with this schedule that he sometimes lost track of time. More than once he had nearly been caught in the sunlight on his way back to the castle, once even singing the fur of his bat form. He didn't think that little patch of hair on the back of his leg would ever recover.

But, despite all those close calls, tonight would not be like that. Of course tonight would not be like the many others, either. He had stayed far too late to get home. Today, he would be trapped in the home of his best friend. It was Friday night so Mina could sleep late, which gave him more leeway time to play. The young-looking man tucked Mina in and kissed her forehead tenderly. She was exhausted and had darker circles under her eyes than even the ones he had. Looking up in surprise, he realized the sun was rising. Even if he could fly home in three or four minutes, it was too late.

"Oh no." He ran to the window after kissing her goodnight. She was already asleep and would be for at least five more hours. She really needed it after their taxing play. Well, taxing to her. He hardly broke a sweat, ever. The deadly star continued to rise, almost mocking him because despite all the power he had as one of the undead it was his weakness. Soon he had to back away and hide in the shadows to keep from being burned.

Downstairs Mina's father was still asleep. It was only seven- O'clock on a Saturday in the summer. Lucy was strongly missed in the house because she had moved on to college out-of-state last year, and her room remained untouched. Vlad thought about moving there later if he had to stay all day, but took to the closet for now. He turned into a bat and nestled in between her clothes, worried but also tired. He decided to sleep, at least until Mina woke, and then get her help in escaping.

~~~At the castle~~~

Igor looked out the window. He had to get to bed soon. The hunchback's eyes were heavy from overworking, but he had to worry. His master, who he had worked for since he could understand 'sweep' and follow it out, had not come back this morning. He stood by the window for a few more minutes before going into the kitchen and getting a cup of coffee.

Maybe Vlad had been caught out in the sun. Igor swallowed uncomfortably at the very thought. Oh no… he couldn't even imagine it. Or, oh! Maybe, maybe this was it; he was trapped at Mina's. Surely that was it; she would even come soon, carrying a suitcase containing the Count with her all the way. Yes, he would even call soon.

But he still felt that something worse had gone wrong, deep in the pit of his stomach. Igor decided that he couldn't sleep at a time like this and went into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. Walking back into the living room, the hunchback sat down in his evening chair and watched the sun rise.

~~~Back at Mina's, a few hours later~~~

Someone was going through Mina's closet. That became immediately apparent when Vlad opened his eyes. Only inches from where he was hiding a group of hangars disappeared. "Come now Mina, you know you promised to clean out some of your clothes today." Her father was saying, laying down the hangars and grabbing another handful. "We are going to give some of your clothes to the Salvation Army and buy more that fit you." The man had a point- she was getting too big for a lot of her clothes and had no use for them.

"Aw, daddy." The girl whined. She didn't mind getting rid of some of her clothes, but really didn't want to work on a Saturday. "Why today?"

Bill Harper sighed. "Because I'm helping your sister move out of her dorm tomorrow." Lucy had earned enough money as the manager of a local restaurant to move into her boyfriend Bobby's apartment and help pay the rent.

"Ugh, fine." Mina sighed good naturedly and flopped onto her bed. Vlad shrank back further, hiding. He could only wait and hope that he wasn't caught. The girl got up again and shooed her father away from the closet. "Okay, go on, I can do it." Already like a teenager, she protected her things from prying parent's eyes. Not that she had anything to hide, just that the stuff was _hers_ and _none of his business._

"Fine, fine." The man stepped back. He had learned from Lucy that the girls could throw fits if he pried, and knew better. Mina smiled before shoving him out the door. Bill even nearly lost the pipe that he kept gripped between his teeth, ever present but never lit. He shrugged and headed down the stairs to mop.

Vlad gave a long sigh of relief. He landed on the floor of the tiny closet and returned to his human form. "Mina!" He whispered quickly, poking his face out of the closet. He was far enough from direct sunlight to step out without being burned.

"Vlad?" The girl turned her head to look at him in surprise. "What are you still doing here?" She knew how dangerous it was for him to be out at this time. Mina ran over and shut the window shades.

Sighing again, the vampire stepped out to greet her. "I stayed a bit too late and got caught here. I couldn't get home without burning." She looked him over. It occurred to him that he needed- had- to get home and get more sleep, and to let Igor know that he was okay. "Can you take me back to the castle in your backpack?" He would return to his bat form and hide in her backpack. The girl even had a cell phone now, so they could say that she had forgotten her jacket or books and received a call.

Mina nodded thoughtfully. This accident was a surprise that had never occurred before. "I'll go tell my dad that you called and said I forgot my jacket."

"Alright," He smiled and nodded before hugging her quickly. "Thank you Mina. Please hurry." She ran, skipping bouncily as usual, down the stairs. Oh boy, a free ticket out of work, if only for a little while. Vlad sat down on the bed patiently. A few minutes later, after listening to a short argument that he could only understand when Mina whined loudly, his little friend trudged back upstairs. He frowned at her upset expression. "So, I guess I von't be getting home until later?"

"Sorry." She huffed angrily and threw herself onto the bed. "But I have to finish going through my clothes before I can take you home."

Vlad's face went sour. He looked around… two dressers and a closet. This could take hours, and he wanted to be home before sundown. "All right," He shook his head. "I vill help you. Together ve can get done tvice as fast."

Mina smiled brightly. She pulled a few more hangars out of her closet and laid them on her bed. "Thanks Count. Okay," She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Let's start with the things from my closet." She was determined to finish early with or without his help. She had earned violin lessons that began whenever she was allowed over and ended as late as eleven, some days. Her father was rather loose with this, as long as the lessons were free and he heard her play sometimes. Vlad, because he didn't really bother teaching her what he did know about the violin, just hypnotized her into remembering exactly what he played.

Only moments later the cell phone Mina had on her bedside table rang. Some band Vlad hadn't learned the name of- All American Rejects or something like that- spilled loud music into the air and told them that she was getting a call from the castle. It was 'Dirty Little Secret'. How fitting. Mina picked it up carefully and answered. "Hello?" She looked at the Count in slight surprise when Igor asked, whimpering in worry, if Vlad was there. If he was okay, if he had been burned, if, most importantly of all, he was dead. The girl looked over at her friend and nodded calmly. "He's okay, Igor."

"Igor's on the phone?" The vampire leaned closer to her, listening to the hunchback sigh in relief. Soon the babble of grumpy commands resumed on the castle's end of the line, more hateful than usual because he was up hours past his normal bedtime. Vlad's face soured. "Put me on the line please, Mina." He took the phone easily before spinning out a list of orders to Igor. "Calm down, Igor, I'm fine. And get some rest. You're more of a stick in the mud than usual." He smiled, half-chuckling. For some reason bossing the hunchback around put him in better spirits. Maybe it was this way for everyone used to having life handed to them on a silver platter.

"Yes master." The little man nodded slowly. He hung up after a moment and went to bed.

"Now that that's over," Vlad smiled before handing back the phone and standing up. He looked over the clothes with a look of distaste to match his little friend's. "Ve can go through your clothes and get me home."

Vlad hadn't seen something quite so scary since the time he was trapped in the home of the notorious Van Hellsing. There had been much more frightening décor, but it was nothing compared to the items in question being in a teenage girl's room. He had been placed in Lucy's room until night because Mina would be busy all day and couldn't leave. Now he had even more reasons to get out of here.

It seemed as if Lucy had put two and two together and figured him out for what he really was. While yes, it had been rude to dig through her closet for something that she had left to entertain himself with, this was an important discovery so his fault could be overlooked.

Deep within the blonde's closet was a box that contained his forgotten cape. She had, actually, kept her promise and treasured it since he had dinner at their home and left it in his hurry to get to the castle. But now, after a year in college, it lay forgotten in her junk box.

He jumped back, emitting a hiss of surprise, when a stringer of herbs, nuts, and some garlic came tumbling out from inside it. He backed away quickly to keep from the terrible smell. Why on earth did she have garlic and scented herbs in a box with his cape? He shuddered slightly, imagining the stew she had tried to feed him on accident. But now… did she feel reason to try it again?

Vlad tried to shake off the thought and went to occupy himself with other things. So, he examined some pictures in the back of her jewelry box. There was even one of him as a human at the picnic he had gone to with Mina a few years ago! He smiled before noticing something odd about the picture. He reached into the back to get it and squealed when his hand became entangled in a silver necklace. The vampire stumbled back, waving his hand and trying to get the piece of jewelry off. It burned his cold flesh like fire.

Finally the necklace came flying off his wrist and hit the wall. Nursing his hurt wrist and hand, careful not to lose any of the little blood that had spilled, Vlad went to examine the deadly accessory from a safer vantage point. It was a silver cross pendant. He swallowed uneasily. This room was dangerous and, it seemed, all this danger was targeted at him.

The vampire went back to the photo and carefully plucked it out, avoiding any more hostile jewelry. It was a group photo of everyone that had been at the family picnic. It seemed that Lucy had circled her two crushes- Bobby and himself. But he was circled twice, for emphasis. He didn't know of that was good or bad. If she was hunting him she would have been put off by this picture… or, maybe, made even more curious. He wondered if she had taken photos of him behind his back and wondered why he didn't develop, or heard him with Mina through the wall each night.

He could only wonder. But, thankfully, just as the paranoia was setting in, the sun's rays disappeared over the horizon. It was now safe to travel. Vlad didn't bother to tell Mina goodbye or clean the mess. He was too tired, to suspicious and easily victimized by exhaustion and the power of suggestion, to do anything but escape. He simply left in a panic, a frenzy of bat wings, which would leave Bill Harper wondering the next day why someone had dragged out Lucy's picture of her two favorite men, her silver necklace that she wore to church, a scented shoe freshener, and the cape she had gotten from Mina's violin teacher.

Igor gave a huge heaving sigh of relief when Vlad flew in the window. He brought his master a glass of blood as quickly as possible and, without the grace he normally had, the vampire drained it. He seemed shaken, and didn't talk. The vampire had exhausted lines of mental age on his face. "Master?" The little man asked worriedly. His eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep and over pronounced worry, were sagging but alight with new concern at Vlad's seeming uneasiness.

Vlad didn't reply until he got to his coffin for the night, and probably most of the next day. "Keep an eye on Lucy Harper please, Igor." He muttered before slamming the lid. Of course he was still horrified and worried for his own safety now, but when he woke up he would realize how ridiculous the power of suggestion was, and how strongly it had affected him. All was fine, when he got enough rest. But the vampire would always be sure to get home on time from now on.


End file.
